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A. General Information

What are employee testimonials? An employee testimonial is a brief written statement an employee makes about his/her personal experience and perspective on working for the County. The statement is featured on the Department of Human Resources (DHR) website with the employee’s photograph. Why are the testimonials being placed on the DHR website? As the primary recruitment portal for the County, the DHR website attracts and informs potential applicants about County employment. Research shows that potential applicants are more attracted to an organization when employees’ first-hand perspectives are shared via online testimonials. Employee testimonials can help promote the County as an Employer of Choice. They may also provide the supplemental benefit of highlighting the functional diversity of the County’s 35 departments by showcasing the specific service your department provides. Who is eligible to provide an employee testimonial? Any willing current County employee in good standing can provide a testimonial. Your department is responsible for selecting the specific employee(s) to represent your department via a testimonial. What general steps and resources are required to produce a testimonial? Select an employee who is willing to participate, review and approve the employee’s questionnaire responses, and submit the materials to DHR. After the materials have been reviewed and approved by DHR, assist DHR in coordinating a time for the employee’s photograph to be taken at a departmental work location. Employees can participate on County time with prior supervisor approval. How long will each testimonial be “live” on the DHR website? Depending on the number of suitable testimonials received, DHR plans to periodically “refresh” the employee testimonials. For example, a given group of five employee testimonials may be on the website for a month, after which they would be replaced by another group of testimonials. What if an employee testimonial needs to be removed? The subject employee, your department, or DHR may request to remove a testimonial at any time due to unforeseen circumstances. To do so, the employee must contact your departmental human resources office and/or your departmental human resources office must contact DHR’s Talent Management Division at recruit@hr.lacounty.gov.

Online Employee Testimonials

DEPARTMENT GUIDE

A Strategic Workforce Planning Program Resource

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B. Process Overview/Instructions

1. Select the employee(s) to represent your department.

In general, any employee your department selects should be in good standing (i.e., no current performance or discipline issues). The specific selection criteria, however, are at your department’s discretion. For example, your department might choose to select an employee who • represents the core function of the department (e.g., a Firefighter for the Fire Department;

an Engineer for the Department of Public Works). • is nominated by a departmental representative (e.g., an upper-level manager). • is among a group of individuals who volunteer to provide a testimonial. • has earned recognition for exceptional performance on a work project. • is unique among your staff (e.g., longest tenure with the department).

Ultimately, you must select an employee who is willing to provide a testimonial, as his/her perspectives and photograph will be openly displayed on the Internet.1

2. Introduce the online employee testimonials effort and provide the following documents to the

employee(s):

• Departmental Introduction (e.g., memorandum, email, flyer on bulletin board) - provides a basic introduction of the online employee testimonials effort from your departmental human resources office, encourages employee participation, and also describes specifics about the deadline and method (e.g., email or in-person) by which the employee(s) should respond.1

• Online Employee Testimonials Employee Guide2 - provides an overview of the process, example testimonials from other public agencies, and completion instructions.

• Employee Response Form2 - primarily consists of two sections the employee must complete: • A release that authorizes the County to post the testimonial on the DHR website • A questionnaire about County and/or departmental work experiences and perspectives

3. Review and authorize the Employee Response Form submitted by the employee(s).

• Verify that the employee release has the appropriate signatures (i.e., the employee and his/her supervisor).

• Evaluate the questionnaire responses to ensure that they meet your department’s standards for content (e.g., specific work experiences discussed), tone (e.g., positive and professional), and form (e.g., grammar and spelling).

Note: Although you may need to work with the employee to implement minor revisions, be careful to preserve the integrity and authenticity of the original responses that convey the employee’s personal experiences/perspectives in his/her own words.

• Complete the Departmental Authorization by indicating whether the employee’s work location is suitable for the photography shoot and obtaining the Departmental HR Manager/designee signature.

1 Sample language for introducing the online employee testimonials effort and encouraging employee participation is included in Section C of this Guide.

2 Be sure to review the document for full understanding before distributing it to the employee(s).

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B. Process Overview/Instructions (cont’d)

4. Submit the completed Employee Response Form to DHR at recruit@hr.lacounty.gov.

DHR will acknowledge receipt of the submission and review the documents provided. If the submission meets our review standards (similar to those at the department level), then we will contact you to arrange for the employee’s photograph to be taken at a location in your department. If the submission does not meet our review standards, we will contact you to discuss ways to work with the employee on improving the submission.

C. Sample Language for Employee Communications

The following sample language can be used to inform the employee(s) about the online employee testimonials effort and encourage participation. This language may be modified as needed by your department and distributed to the employee(s) via the method of your choice (e.g., memorandum, email, flyer on bulletin board). Note that you may need to modify the content based on how your department has chosen to select employees for participation (e.g., nominate an employee or choose from among volunteers).

To [Employee Name], Our department is seeking to support the Department of Human Resources (DHR) in incorporating employee testimonials on the DHR website. [You have been selected to represent our department with a testimonial –OR– We are seeking volunteers to provide testimonials]. The written testimonials (e.g., about why you like working for the County) will be featured on the DHR website along with your photograph. The testimonials will help to recruit new job applicants by providing them with information from your valued, first-hand perspective as an employee. Your insights and opinions can positively influence a potential applicant’s decision to work for our organization. Your participation is voluntary and can be completed on County time with your supervisor’s approval. Please review the attached Online Employee Testimonials Employee Guide for information on the process, important considerations, and guidelines for providing your testimonial. If you are willing to participate, please complete the attached Employee Response Form and submit it to [DEPARTMENT CONTACT] by [DATE]. If you have any questions, please contact [DEPARTMENT CONTACT]. We are proud to have you as a member of our department and strongly encourage you to participate.

D. Questions

Please contact Marc Shartzer, Principal Analyst, DHR’s Talent Management Division – Workforce Planning Program, at recruit@hr.lacounty.gov.